Part of a notorious nationalist family, during the Troubles two of John’s uncles (one a former fiance of Gibraltar bomber Mairead Farrell), were handed long prison sentences for possession of firearms and were suspects in more serious terrorist attacks.Īnother, described in a death notice in the Irish News as a section leader in the Provisional IRA, was killed in a hijacked car when it crashed into a lampost on the Falls Road. His parents, Pat and Geraldine, had married in 1979 after graduating from Trinity College, Dublin, where Geraldine had studied English, Philosophy and Geography while Pat graduated in English, French and Philosophy before qualifying in law and becoming an IRA staff lawyer.Īs well as being tasked to manipulate the legal process to keep Irish republican murders out of jail, Finucane Senior made life difficult for the British State in the European courts, with endless legal aid funded compensation claims and by opposing anti-terrorist legislation. Although originally one of the Falls Road Finucanes, John grew up in the not so mean streets of North Belfast’s exclusive Fortwilliam Drive.
